Attachment for pianos.



I. TRAVERSARO.

ATTACHMENT POE PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1911.

1,073,944, Patented Set.23,1913.

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COLUMIIA PLANOGRAPH 60-. WASHINGTON. D. C

I. TRAVERSARO.

ATTACHMENT FOR PIANOS.

APPLIOATIOH'IILBD mums, 1911.

1,073,944. Patented Sept. 23, 1913.

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I. TRAVERS ARO. ATTACHMENT POR-PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.26, 1911.

1,073,944. Patented Sept. 23, 1913.

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IGNATIUS TRAVERSARO, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ATTACHMENT Eon PIANOS.

Specification of Letters fiatent.

Patented Sept. 23, 1913.

Application filed December 26, 1911. Serial No. 667,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IGNATIUs TRAVERSARO, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Pianos, of which the following is a specification. v

The hereinafter described invention re:

lates to an improved attachment for pianos,

multaneously with the effect produced by the operation of the piano hammers.

Another object is to provide in conjunc tion with a piano, a reed device having an equalized air suction supply so operated that when the valves which control the admittance through the reeds of the air are opened, an unvarying tone will be produced by the reed. V

The attachment to produce the proper harmonic efliect is used in connection with thirty-one consecutive keys of the piano and is positioned with its lowest toned reed in connection for operation with the piano key bar representing C sharp.

The invention comprises an air suction means operatable from any suitable source of power, an air suction equalizing device in communication therewith, a sound board provided with separate channels in communication with which are suitably tuned reeds or other musical sound producing devices, a wind chest common to all of said .sound board channels, air passages from each of said channels to said chest, devices adapted to close said passages, an air-passage bet-ween said wind chest and said equalizing suction device and devices operatable by certain keys of the piano and communicating with said channel passage closing devices for opening the same when the respective key connected therewith is operated.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of out departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

.To comprehend the invention reference should be had to the accompanying sheets of drawings illustrating a complete constructed apparatus for successfully carrying out the invention, wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of my device assembled with part of the wind chest and the mechanism associated therewith shown in section, disclosing the Wind chest, sound boards and the channels therein, the reeds positioned over each of said channels, the valve controlled passages from the sound board channels to the'wind chest, the double air suction bellows and the operating means therefor, the air suction equalizing bellows, the passage for the airlfrom the equalizing bellows to the air suction bellows, the passage for the air from the wind chest to the equalizing bellows and the rods extending from and operated by the piano key (not shown) for operating said'valves. Fig. 2 is atop planview of the board containing the air passages with the top removed therefrom, disclosing the air passage from the wind chest to the equalizing bellows, the air passage from the equalizing bellows to the air suction bellows and showing the course taken by the "air in its passage from the wind chest through the equalizing bellows to the air suction bellows. F 3 is a transverse sectional View of the device taken on line 83Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, showing one of the air suction bellows, the sound board, the transverse channels therein, the reeds associated therewith, the wind chest, the valve controlled openings between the transverse channels in the sound board and the wind chest, the mechanism connected with saidvalves for controlling the opening thereof, and the piano keys for operating said valves, the air passage from the wind chest to the equalizing bellows and the air passage from the equalizing bellows to the air suction bellows. Fig. 4: is a broken sectional view of the sound box and the wind chest, disclosing the sound board, the transto the wind chest, the mountings for the valves, the mechanism extending through the lower part of the wind chest and the spring arms associated with the mechanism extending through said wind chest. Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section of a piano with my improved attachment mounted therein between the front board and hammers thereof, disclosing the general construction of the attachment.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a suitable frame capable of supporting the several parts of my improved attachment, and is adapted to be mounted within the case of a piano between the front board thereof and the piano hammers and positioned above the piano key bars. The frame 1 is provided with suitable spaced uprights 2 extending downwardly from the top thereof and between which is mounted suitable air suction devices 3, sound box 4, and wind chest 5; the wind chest 5 being in communication with the air suction devices 3 by means of suitable air passages 6 and 7 located in the top of frame 1; the passage 6 extending to asuitable air equalizing means 8, positioned to one side of the spaced uprights 2, and the passage 7 extending from the equalizing means 8 to the air suction device 3. v

The air suction means 3 consist of two opposed bellows 9 and 10 of the usual construction, each of which are in communication with the air passage 7 by suitable valved inlet openings 11 and 12; the movable bellows boards are hinged as'at 9 and 10 and are provided with valved outlet openings 11 and 12as shown in Fig. l ofthe drawings.

The outer or free ends of the bellows boards are connected by a bar 13 pivoted to oscillate as at 13 and which receives an oscillating movement from any suitable source of power to alternately expand and collapse the bellows 9 and 10, the preferred form of mechanism for transmitting this oscillating movement comprising a link 1a, one end of which is pivoted to the free end of the bar 13 and the other end mounted to rotate about a pin 14 eccentrically mounted on a driven pulley 15 which is rotatedby a suitable belt 16 extending therefrom and around a drive pulley 17, around which is adapted to extend a belt 18 which transmits v motion to the pulley 17 from any suitable source of power, preferably that power which operates the piano.

The valves in the openings 11, 11', 12 and 12 are so arranged that when the bellows are expanded the air is drawn in through the openings 11 and 12 and when they are collapsed the air is forced therefrom through the openings 11 and 12' in the movable boards thereof.

The air equalizing means 8 is in communil the wind chest.

cation with both of the air passages 6 and 7 through suitable openings 19 and 20 arranged in the same end of said passages 6 and 7 and comprises a collapsible bellows 21 with the movable board thereof hinged as at 22 and the bellows being normally held in its expanded position by a suitable spring 23,

The wind chest 5 is of the ordinary construction and is supported by the uprights 2 and located below the air suction bellows 9 and 10 and is provided at one end with an opening 5 which is in communication with an opening 6 in one end of the air passage 6 by means of a suitable tube or pipe 24;.

Positioned immediately above the wind chest 5 and supported thereby is the sound box 4 provided with a fabric covering 4', the bottom of said box forming a sound board 25, preferably oblong in shape, and provided on'its inner face with a plurality of spaced channels or grooves 26 arranged transversely of the board and the inner ends of the corresponding channels communicating with each other. Suitable reed supporting plates 27 are provided to cover each of the channels 26 in the sound board 25 and are provided between their ends with suitable oblong openings 27, the outer end of the plates 27 being secured to the sound board adjacent the outer end of the channels 26 and the inner end being adapted to extend into suitable grooves 28 in the sides of a member 29 extending longitudinally of the board and positioned immediately above the meeting ends of the channels 26. Each of the oblong openings 27 of the plates 27 are covered by suitable oblong reeds 30 of different tones which are free to vibrate at their ends adjacent the outer end of the channels 26, and the opposite ends thereof are secured to the reed supporting plate in any suitable manner, as by a screw 30. The sound board 25 is provided at theconnecting pointof each oft-he channels 26 with a suitable opening 31 which is adapted to register with a similar opening 32 in the top of the wind chest 5 and provide a communication between each of the channels 26 and the wind chest 5.

The valves for closing the openings 32 are all of the same construction and it is thought that a description of one will sutlice. Each of the openings 32 from the wind chest to the channels 26 are adapted to be closed by a suitable'pivotally mounted valve arranged 0171, the underside of the top of the wind chest and positioned to one side of the opening 32; thevalve comprising two arms 33 and 34 extending in the opposite directions from each other and connected at their inner ends by a transverse bend 35 which is adapted to be seated in a suitable bearing 36 attached to the underside of the top of The'valve arm 33 extends under the opening 32 and carries on its upper face, adjacent said opening, a felt or other disk 33 of a size slightly larger than the opening, and the valve operating arm 34 is provided at its end and on the underside of the arm with a suitable plate 37. Secured to the underside of the top of the wind chest, near the plate 37 is a suitable spring arm 38 which extends parallel to the arm 33, and its free end is adapted to engage under the felt 33 and force the same upwardly to close the opening 32. Thusit will be observed that air cannot pass through the reeds to the air suction bellows unless the valves controlling the openings from the channels 26 to the wind chest are operated.

A separate valve operating means controls the opening of each valve, and the operation of said means is controlled by the movement of the piano keys, one of which is associated with each particular valve, so it will be observed that when the piano is in operation and the different piano keys are operated, the corresponding valves in the organ attachment will be simultaneously operated therewith and an organ note sounded as the piano hammer strikes the wire.

The valve operating means being the same for all valves a description of one isthought will suffice.

Secured as at- 39 to the underside of the bottom of the wind chest 5 and extending parallel to the valve operating arm 34 is a suitable spring arm 40 having its free end projecting through a suitable guide opening and extending slightly beyond the front of the wind chest 5 and provided near its outer end with a small opening (not shown) through which is adapted to extend a pin 41 carried by the upper end of an operating rod 42, which extends upwardly from the piano key 43 and is supported at its lower end by said keys in rear of the pivotal point thereof. I

The upper face of the spring arm 40 is adapted to engage the lower end of a pin 44 extending through an opening in the bot tom of the wind chest 5, and positioned directly below the plate 37 on the arm 34. The pin 44 is provided at its upper end with an eye 45 to which is attached the free end of a spring arm 46, the other end of which is secured, as at 47, to the bottom of the wind chest 5. The pin 44 is provided below the eye thereof and between the bottom of the wind chest 5 with suitable felt washers 48 which prevent the admittance of air into the wind chest 5 through the opening in the bottom thereof in which the pin 44 works, when it is not in operation.

The operation of the device is as follows When the piano is operated, preferably from the same source of power that operates the bellows, the air suction bellows 9 and 10 will be alternately operated and will create a suction in the wind chest 5, through the pipe 24 and the passages 6 and 7 and a like suction will also be created in the equalizing bellows 8, which suction tends to collapse the bellows and place the spring 23 under a greater tension; as a piano key bar 43 associated with the organ device is operated it will raise the rod 43, which in turn raises the spring arm 40 forcing the pin 44 upwardly against the plate 37 on the end of the valve operating arm 34 forcing the same upwardly, which removes the closure 33 from the opening 32 (all of which is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings) and permits the channel 26 associated with said key to be in communication with the wind chest. As soon as this valve is opened air is drawn through the fabric top 4 of the sound box 4, through the reeds associated with said valve, and a sound similar to an organ note is produced simultaneously with the note produced by the striking of the piano hammer against the piano wire. As soon as pressure on the piano key is released the several springs associated with the valve, close the same and the note produced by the reed is sllenced.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an attachment for producing an organ effect in conjunction with the effect produced by the operation of a piano, the com bination with a piano, a supporting frame mounted in the piano between the front board and hammers thereof, of an air suction device carried by said frame, mechanism for operating the same, a sound board carried by said frame beneath said air suction de vice, reeds associated with said sound board, a wind chest, an air suction equalizing device carried by said frame, an air passage between said wind chest and air suction equalizing device, an air passage between said air suction equalizing device and said air suction device, openings between said sound board and wind chest, valves for normally closing said openings, and mechanism operable by the manual actuation of the piano keys for opening said valves for permitting air to be drawn through said reeds.

2.1n an attachment for producing an organ effect in conjunction with the effect produced by the manual operation of a piano, the combination with a piano, a supporting frame mounted in the piano between the front board and the hammers thereof, of alternately operated air suction bellows mounted on the underside of said frame, mechanism for operating the same, a sound board mounted on said frame heneath said air suction bellows and provided with separate transversely extending channels therein, a reed associated with each of said channels, a wind chest located below said sound board and common to all vof said channels, an air suction equalizing bellows supported by said frame, an air passage between said air suction equalizing bellows and said alternately operated air suction bellows, an air passage in said frame between opening said valve associated therewith for,

permitting air to be drawn through said corresponding reed.

3. In an attachment for pianos for producing an organ effect in conjunction with the effect produced by the operation of the piano, the combination with a piano, a supporting frame adapted to bepositioned within the piano between the front board and hammers thereof, of alternately operated air suction bellows carried beneath said frame, mechanism for operating the same, a sound board carried by said frame below said air suction bellows and provided with a plurality of spaced channels extending transversely thereof and arranged opposite each other, the inner ends of the corresponding channels communicating with each other, a reed positioned over each of said channels and covering the same, a wind chest located below said sound board, an air suction equalizing bellows carried by said frame, an air passage between said air suction equalizing bellows and said wind chest, an air passage located in said frame and ex tending between said air suction equalizing bellows and said alternately operated air suction bellows, openings communicating with each of said spaced channels, said openings positioned at the inner communicating ends of said channels, separate valves for normally closing each of said openings, and mechanism operatable by the manual actuation of the piano key bars for opening said valve associated therewith for permitting air to be drawn through said corresponding reed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IGNATIUS TRAVERSARO.

WVitnesses I'IARRY A. To'rTnN, D. D. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents, Washington, D. 0. 

